President Laurent-Desire Kabila is considering a draft
constitution, handed to him yesterday (Tuesday) by
a constitutional committee. According to media reports,
the draft envisages a five-year presidency and English
and French as official languages. Committee chairman
Anicet Kashamura said the draft was similar to the
US model comprising a president with wide-ranging powers
and a vice-president, but no prime minister. The committee
also drew up a provisional list of some 250 people
who would not be allowed to contest the presidency.
These include veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi
and former parliament speaker Laurent Monsengwo. In
an interview with Reuters, Kashamura said: "All
our compatriots who have compromised themselves, who
have acquired property illegally or who have been involved
in political killings or other human rights violations
will not be allowed to stand."

Other crucial elements of the draft constitution include
the nationality issue, although sources who have seen
the draft told IRIN there are no major changes from
previous laws. Kashamura, quoted by the Agence congolaise
de presse (ACP) on Monday, had stressed that Congolese
nationality was "exclusive" but could be
"acquired".

Human rights probe reportedly facing problems in Goma

UN human rights chief Mary Robinson yesterday said the
UN team probing alleged human rights violations was
now facing problems in Goma. Last month, the mission
was forced to pull out of the northwestern town of
Mbandaka after facing hostility from the local population.
Robinson said it was important that the DRC authorities
assist the investigation. Meanwhile, DRC Information
Minister Raphael Ghenda said he understood the reaction
of local people, ACP reported. During a visit to Secli
Wendji near Mbandaka where the investigators had been
excavating, he expressed indignation over "this
disrespect for the dead". The local population
accused the investigators of disturbing traditional
burial sites.

Ex-FAZ "sowing terror" in Kasai Occidental

Former Zairean soldiers are "sowing terror"
in Kasai Occidental province, according to Floribert
Chebeya, the president of the human rights group "La
Voix des sans voix". According to the Agence congolaise
de presse (ACP) yesterday, he told a news conference
in Kinshasa that "uncontrolled ex-FAZ soldiers"
were erecting barricades on public roads and looting
from peaceful citizens.

RWANDA: 'Le Figaro' implicates France in 1994 plane
crash

The French daily 'Le Figaro' on Monday said the crew
of a plane which crashed in Kigali in 1994 killing
the Rwandan and Burundian presidents were secretly
working for the French government. One of the widows
said the men had been given the military status of
"killed in action" despite being civilians
and were posthumously decorated by the government.
The newspaper also claimed Soviet-made missiles which
were part of French stocks were responsible for downing
the plane. However in a statement to AFP, a top French
gendarme Paul Barril described the allegations as "implausible
and incoherent" and he "formally" denied
any involvement. Barril was formerly second-in-command
of an elite paramilitary unit.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary information mission probing
France's involvement in the Rwanda genocide yesterday
heard fresh testimonies from two experts who said the
international community, including France and Belgium,
was aware the massacres were being prepared. A Belgian
lawyer, Eric Gillet, said nothing was done to stop
the genocide when there was still time to do so, AFP
reported.

BURUNDI: Concern over security in Bujumbura rural

The authorities in Bujumbura Rural have expressed concern
over the security situation in displaced people's camps,
especially in the communes of Gishubi and Kibuye, the
Azania news agency reported yesterday. Over the past
two weeks, 15,000 displaced people had arrived in the
commune of Isale fleeing fighting in Gishubi and Kibuye,
Azania said, adding that the local authorities had
appealed for humanitarian assistance.

ANGOLA: Government says UNITA has not demobilised

The Angolan government has again accused the UNITA movement
of failing to demobilise its troops ahead of yesterday's
deadline for implementation of the 1994 Lusaka peace
accord. According to a BBC report, it also remained
unclear whether UNITA's shortwave radio "Voice
of the Black Cockerel" had ceased broadcasting
in compliance with the peace deal. UNITA leaders were
meant to install themselves in the capital Luanda yesterday
but failed to arrive, although the movement's secretary-general
Lukamba Paulo Gato said they would come today (Wednesday).
UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi has consistently expressed
fears over his personal safety in the capital.

SUDAN: Government to send troops to contain clashes
in west

President Omar al-Bashir is to send troops to western
Sudan to contain communal clashes in which 23 people
have been killed and over 50 villages torched. According
to press reports, quoted by AFP, Bashir told a gathering
of non-Arab Aringa tribesmen that troops would be despatched
to "maintain order and impose the state's authority".
Arab tribes have reportedly been attacking the homes
of non-Arab communities in western Darfur state. Bashir
claimed the clashes were "motivated by enemies
of the nation who are planning to distract attention
from the fighting in south and east Sudan".

MALARIA: British scientists develop possible preventive
vaccine

Scientists in Britain have developed a vaccine against
malaria which has proved 100 percent effective in mice,
the BBC reported. The vaccine, produced by the Oxford
Institute of Molecular Medicine, is due to be tested
on humans next year, and if all goes well the two-part
vaccine could be in use within five years. The scientists
hope the same type of two-part vaccine may prove effective
against diseases such as AIDS and Hepatitis-B.

Nairobi, 1 April 1998, 13:30 gmt

[ENDS]

[The material contained in this communication comes
to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit,
but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN Tel: +254 2 622123
Fax: +254 2 622129 e-mail: irin@dha.unon.org for more
information or subscriptions. If you re-print, copy,
archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit
and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include
attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are
archived on the WWW at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc
or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail
to archive@dha.unon.org. Mailing list: irin-cea-updates]